THE NIGHT'S STRUGGLE TO FREE THE VESSEL
The boys wondered at the remark which the captain had made, and were
about to ask him for an explanation, when the electric lights suddenly
died out, and all were left in total darkness. The captain crawled past
the boys and felt his way toward the stern of the vessel.
"The storage batteries!" was all he said.
That there was confusion on the part of the crew of the vessel, was
apparent, for the sub-lieutenant shouted one order after the other,
until he seemed to be incoherent, and, as a result, no one knew what was
expected of him or what to do.
Evidently, the captain knew the trouble and how to remedy it, for within
a minute the lights were again in commission, and the captain was
noticed at the main switch. From that point he shouted to the
sub-lieutenant:
"I found a box on the switchboard. It had slipped down and thrown out
the switch bar at the time the boat made the last lurch."
"Thank you for the service," said the sub-lieutenant, to the surprise of
the captain and boys.
As the captain returned to their room he remarked: "The sub-lieutenant
was very polite; probably he would not be so likely to thank me for some
other things I have done."
"What! since you left us two minutes ago?" asked Ralph.
The captain nodded. "But I started to say a few minutes ago," he
continued, "that we ought to have our work planned out ahead and
thoroughly understand each other. There is one thing I must impress on
you, and that is, we must not again be locked up in this room. I have no
faith in the present commander, and would be very much mistaken if he
permits us to have our freedom after we once get free of the nets."
"What must be done if he again orders us locked up?" asked Alfred.
"That brings us to the point where we must make a canvass of the
situation as it confronts us. Let me see; there are three men in
addition to the commander, who need not be reckoned with in a contest.
Fortunately, one of the men is a machinist, and the only other man
except the sub-lieutenant, of any intelligence, is the doctor. I doubt
if he would be a strong factor against us," said the captain.
"The fellow who had charge of the men carrying the boxes is nothing but
a chump," said Ralph. "I wouldn't be afraid of him."
"I am considering more the character of the men who are able to handle
the boat, and who know the intricacies of the mechanism. I can see where
men of that sort will be able to make it very interesting for us if we
should attempt to capture the officers and crew," said the captain
thoughtfully.
It was evident that the vessel was slowly righting itself, for every
minute or two there would be a slight sinking movement, which was very
gratifying.
"Where are the revolvers?" asked the captain.
"I found a dandy place for them, and can get them in a minute, if
wanted," said Ralph.
"Captain, I wanted to ask you some time ago what you meant by saying
that the sub-lieutenant didn't know any more about submarining than he
ought to. What did you mean by that?" asked Alfred.
"One of the things I had in mind was, when he was trying to start the
propellers, that he could have found an easier way to learn whether they
were in the water or not," was the answer.
"How so?" asked Ralph.
"The indicator board in the conning tower shows just how far the vessel
is under water," replied the captain.
"But," said Alfred, "would that tell it correctly if one end of the
vessel should be up and the other down, as this is?"
"Why not? It would indicate how far down in the water the hull would be
amidship, and it would not require much involved calculating to figure
out where the stern of the vessel would be if he knew the angle at which
the hull was resting," answered the captain.
"I would just like to know how far we are down," said Ralph, looking up
the stairway into the conning tower.
"Do you think you could spot the right dial face if you went up?" asked
the captain.
"I think I could," said Ralph, rather doubtingly, it must be admitted.
"Then I'll give you a little hint, if you'd like to try to make an
investigation," said the captain. "Directly forward of the table, which
contains the chart, and below the three levers, you will see a glass
column with red colored liquid in it,----"
"I know what you mean now," said Ralph, interrupting.
"Well, simply get the number on the card on the right side of the glass
column. Do you understand?" remarked the captain.
"Yes; but why not take the numbers on the left side also?" asked Ralph.
"They merely indicate the pressure. Depth below the surface is all we
want," rejoined the captain.
"Well, here goes; and I hope they won't catch me at it," said Ralph, as
he slowly moved out.
"One moment," said the captain, as he put forth a restraining hand.
"What will you do, or how will you act if some one should catch you in
the tower?" he asked.
Ralph hesitated: "I hadn't thought of that; why,--well,--I suppose I
should try to explain it in some way or other," he said.
"I am afraid that would not do. Allow me to make a suggestion. Go up
boldly, as though you had a perfect right to, or that you did not
suspect it was a forbidden place; if some one accosts you look at him in
a surprised way, make an apology, and retire; I give you this pointer
because you may be flustrated and unable to make a prompt reply, and
that would show guilt of some kind," said the captain.
Ralph went out and loitered about, gazing at the various pieces of
machinery, and finally stood on the steps of the conning tower, which,
at the angle of the boat in its inclined position, were almost
horizontal. He stretched himself out on the stairs, and turned his head.
From that point he could see the red liquid in the glass column, but it
was difficult to read the figures.
The glare from the electric light interfered with his sight, and before
he had an opportunity to get a glimpse of the figures from his new
position, one of the petty officers crawled along the passageway, and,
noticing him lying on the stairs, peremptorily ordered him to get down.
Ralph glanced at the man, smiled at him, and promptly complied,
chagrined at his failure. As he entered the little room the captain
eagerly questioned him: "What did it say?" he asked.
"That fellow ordered me away before I could make out the figures," said
Ralph, "but I'm going to try it again."
"How near was the liquid from the top of the glass tube?" asked the
captain.
"Well, I should say about so far," replied Ralph, indicating space
between his thumb and finger. "I guess it was about an inch."
"How long do you think the tube is?" asked the captain.
"I think it must be a foot long; probably more," was the answer.
"I asked you to give me an estimate of the length of the entire tube so
as to give me some assurance that you knew the value of an inch. You
were right; those tubes are twelve inches long. Now let me see; I ought
to know what figures are an inch from the top!" remarked the captain
thoughtfully.
"Pardon me, Captain, but how does it come that you know all about these
boats?" asked Alfred.
"I used to be an officer on a French submarine," he replied in a quiet
tone, and immediately proceeded to make certain mental calculations.
Then he continued: "One inch below the top! That is twenty."
"Twenty what?" asked Ralph.
"Twenty feet; the Germans have the English foot on all their boats. I
wonder they didn't think about that, and make a change before starting
out."
"Maybe it's twenty meters," said Alfred, with a slight laugh.
"Oh, no," replied the captain. "That would be too Frenchy for the
Germans. Besides, it would be too much by all odds. I am sure the
conning tower is not more than twenty feet below the surface of the
water."
"Then the stern of the submarine must be sticking out of the water,"
remarked Alfred.
"Unquestionably," replied the captain.
"How far, do you suppose?" asked Ralph.
"We can easily figure that out," said the captain. "Let me see; we must
first get the angle at which the boat is lying."
[Illustration: _The Entangled Submarine_]
After looking about for some time he continued: "The door jamb is built
in vertically; that is sure. A string, or piece of thread will make a
plumb-bob; here it is: now let us see; according to the plumb line the
boat is at an angle of 33 degrees, as nearly as our imperfect device
indicates. There, now this line A shows the top of the boat and B the
base of the conning tower. A line C, from the top of the water to the
center of the conning tower, measuring 20 feet, shows where the water
line is. Do you understand how I am doing it?"
"That is very plain," said Alfred, "and it is an interesting way to get
at it, too. Then how far is the tail of the boat out of the water?"
"I should say it is about nine feet," replied the captain.
"No wonder the propellers didn't do any good when they sent them
spinning!"
"There is one thing I forgot about," said the captain, as he shook his
head. "Why didn't I tell you to note the time. We are in the greatest
danger, I fear."
"Why, what makes you think so?" asked Ralph.
"This accident happened during the night, and we have now been in this
condition for at least four hours. If we are caught here at daylight it
is all up with us," remarked the captain.
"Why, is it any more dangerous then than now?" asked Alfred.
"Because the patrol boats and submarine chasers will spy us, and then a
shot, and all will be over," replied the captain with a solemn voice.
"Then I think we ought to do something right away," said Ralph, as he
half rose and glanced out.
"I am afraid that will put the burden of getting out of the nets on our
shoulders," replied the captain. "No, let them work at it, as long as
they care to, but we must try by some means to determine the time."
"Do you think the seamen would object to telling us?" inquired Alfred.
"Just let me alone; I am going to try it on, anyway," he said, as he
slipped out of the door, picked up a box and stowed it away snugly at
one side out of the way of a young fellow who was making his way up the
incline toward the stern.
Alfred struck up a conversation, and asked: "Can I help you in any way?
Tell me what to do."
The request seemed to warm up the fellow, and the information was given
that the officer had instructed him to remove the stray boxes from the
machinery. The two engaged in this work for more than fifteen minutes.
Finally Alfred said: "How are you, pretty tired? You haven't had much
sleep so far?"
"Oh, no; but we're used to that," he replied, "why, in the last run we
had hardly an hour's sleep in the last four days before reaching port."
"That must be very trying," rejoined Alfred. "But it must be near
daylight."
"It is just about an hour off; and when the day comes I don't know what
will happen," remarked the seaman.
"Why, what are you afraid of?" asked Alfred, appearing to be greatly
alarmed.
"They have caught us this time for good, as I heard the lieutenant,----"
The sentence was never finished, for at that moment there was another
rasping sound, and the stern of the boat came down with a sudden spring,
then rebounded, and after two or three oscillations, rested quietly in
the water, still at quite an angle.
The sub-lieutenant sprang toward the conning tower as fast as he could
scramble. The signal was given to reverse, the motors began to hum and
the ship vibrated. It was a glorious feeling, and the captain grasped
the hands of the boys in an ecstacy of joy.